Berry College

• Name — Berry College • Former Names — Boys Industrial School (1902–1926) Martha Berry School for Girls (1909–1926) • Motto — Not to be ministered unto, but to minister • Type — Private university • Religious Affiliation — Non-denominational Christian • Endowment — $1.47 billion (2025) • President — Sandeep Mazumder • City — Mount Berry • State — Georgia • Campus — Rural • Campus Size — more than 27000 acre • Sporting Affiliations — NCAA Division III – SAA • Mascot — Victor the Viking • Website — https: berry.edu • Students — 2,484 (2024 fall) • Undergrad — 2,254 (2024 fall) • Postgrad — 230 (2024 fall) • Faculty — 177 full-time, 46 part-time (2024 fall) • Colors — #A2AAAD (Blue, light blue, and silver)

• Illustration — Berry student life in the 1950s In 1902, Martha Berry, daughter of a prominent local business owner, founded the "Boys Industrial School" on 83 acres of land inherited from her father. In exchange for an education, students of the school would work to help build, run, and maintain the new school. In 1904, it became the first approved school of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1909, the "Martha Berry School for Girls" was added, and collectively with the boys school, it came to be known as the Berry Schools. The free labor provided by the students helped to keep construction and operating costs for the schools low. In 1926, the school became a junior college and several years later, a senior college, graduating its first class in 1932. During the 1930s, the school campus grew to 30,000 acres, helped by a large donation from Henry Ford. In 1957, Berry College became accredited by the SACS. During the 1960s, Berry College began paying student workers instead of crediting accounts and ended mandatory religious services for students.

Berry College offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, Master of Business Administration, Master of Education, and Education Specialist degrees from the four schools making up its academic program. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The student-faculty ratio at Berry College is 11:1, and the school has 58.9% of its classes with fewer than 20 students, and 99.6% of its classes with fewer than 50 students. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 83%. U.S. News & World Report in its 2021 Best Colleges ranks Berry College #4 in Regional Universities South, #3 in Best Undergraduate Teaching, and #1 in Best Value Schools.

Berry offers degrees in the following schools: • Campbell School of Business • Charter School of Education and Human Sciences • Evans School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences • School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences A minor degree can be obtained in 36 different courses of study throughout the four schools. Berry also offers an undergraduate degree in interdisciplinary studies.

Berry offers a Master of Arts in Teaching program and an Education Specialist certification in the Charter School of Education and Human Sciences that is accredited by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCATE). The Campbell School of Business offers a Master of Business Administration program that is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

In 2021, Berry College accepted 77% of all applicants. Admitted students have an average GPA of 3.7, a mean ACT score of 27 and a mean SAT score of 1175.

Berry College is situated near the city of Rome in northwestern Georgia, 59 mi northwest of Atlanta, Georgia, and 53 mi south of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The campus consists of more than 27,000 acres of land - including fields, forests, and Lavender Mountain - making it the largest contiguous college campus in the world. Designated portions are open to the public for hiking, cycling, horseback riding, and other outdoor activities. The campus is also home to a large population of deer (estimates range between 1,500 and 2,500). The Georgia Department of Natural Resources oversees about 16,000 acres of the campus, conducts managed hunts, and provides recreational opportunities. The land encompassing the academic buildings and other public spaces is a wildlife refuge in which no hunting is allowed. In September 2011, Travel+Leisure ranked Berry among the most beautiful college campuses in the United States, noting its numerous fountains and pools among its English Gothic-style buildings. • Illustration — The "Gate of Opportunity" is the main entrance to the campus • Illustration — Berry Gate of Opportunity updated 2024 • Illustration — The reflecting pools in front of the Ford Dining Hall • Illustration — West Mary Hall • Illustration — Mirror Lake on the Mountain Campus • Illustration — Ford Buildings • Illustration — Animal Science Center at Briggs Hall • Illustration — Morgan-Bailey Health Sciences Center • Illustration — Morgan-Bailey Health Sciences Center • Illustration — McAllister Hall • Illustration — Hermann Hall • Illustration — Rome Tennis Center at Berry College • Illustration — Sisters Theatre at Blackstone Hall • Illustration — Old Mill

Berry College has a total of 1,943 undergraduate students for the 2019–2020 academic year. There are 91 graduate students. There is a 66:34 female to male ratio, and 69 percent of the students are in-state residents. Students come from 35 states and at least 18 foreign countries.

Berry College has more than 80 miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails, and two disc golf courses; all are open to the Berry community and to the public. The Victory Lake Campground located in the heart of Berry's campus is available to Berry student use only. Berry offers an intramural program with men, women and co-educational play for many sports.

Berry College's student work program, called LifeWorks, guarantees every student a job on campus for those interested in participating. The work program is based upon the original idea the school was formed around. The founder, Martha Berry, would educate local children for free if they would work around campus. This continues to help offset the tuition cost to this day.

Berry College's mission statement espouses "values based on Christian principles". The institution's board of trustees chose to shutter the middle and high school academy, and used that campus property to court leadership of Chick-fil-A, a Christian-run business, through its WinShape foundation programs. The campus has a chaplain, four chapels, and an active religion-in-life program supporting all Christian denominations and religions outside of Christianity. The school recognizes the Student Association for an Inter-Religious Community, which is a student organization that encourages dialogue between religions represented on campus.

Berry College has housing for employees. Faculty housing on the Berry College property is zoned to Floyd County School District for public school (for dependents of college employees living on the property). The zoned secondary schools for Berry College's housing are Armuchee Middle School and Armuchee High School.

• Illustration — Berry athletics logo The Berry athletic teams are called the Vikings. The institution is a member of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) as a founding member since the 2012–13 academic year. The Vikings previously competed as an NCAA D-III Independent from 2010–11 to 2011–12; and in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC); formerly known as Georgia–Alabama–Carolina Conference (GACC) until after the 2003–04 school year) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 2004–05 to 2009–10. The school's mascot is the Viking. Berry competes in 22 intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis and track & field; women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, equestrian, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball.

Berry has won three NAIA national championships in women's soccer (1987, 1990 and 1993), one national title in women's basketball (1976), one NAIA national crown in men's golf (1998), and three IHSA national championships in equestrian (2011, 2015, 2016). In addition, Berry student-athletes Michelle Abernathy (marathon, 1999), Caio Soares (3,000 meter race-walk, 2004), Michelle Tuggle (high jump, 1984) and Nicole Wildes (women's golf, 2004) have all won individual national championships. The Berry College women's basketball team won the AIAW Small College National Championship in 1976. In 2018, Elijah Hirsh in men's basketball broke the single-game record for blocks in Berry's NCAA Division III era with 10 blocks. In 2019, he averaged 9.2 rebounds (leading the SAA) and was named SAA Player of the Year, SAA All-First Team, and National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District South First Team.

The Berry College Board of Trustees voted to add football beginning in the fall of 2013, with a track and field athletic program to be added soon after. Due to the financial expense and the traditions of the school, the decision to add football was controversial and met with opposition from a significant portion of the student body, faculty, and alumni. According to the school newspaper, The Campus Carrier, adding football would not affect issues related to equal sports opportunity under the Title IX regulations.

The college's stadium, known as "Valhalla", is used by the football, track, and lacrosse programs. The stadium was originally intended to be built near the Cage Center, but in 2012 a pair of bald eagles established their nest near the site. They returned and successfully raised chicks in 2013 and 2014. The school moved the stadium site to a new location well removed from the eagles, which have become a symbol of the school. Groundbreaking was held on October 17, 2014, and the stadium was completed for the 2015 football season. The Cage Center is Berry's 131,000-square-foot athletic facility that houses a performance gymnasium, a natatorium with observation seating, a fitness center, racquetball courts, an indoor track and classrooms. The Cage was named after Berry College alumnus and trustee Steven Cage, whose $10 million donation kicked off the project.

• Darren Barnet, actor • Ashley Herring Blake, author • Mark Bloom, professional soccer player • Meghan Boenig, head coach of the women's equestrian varsity program at the University of Georgia • Morgan Church, head coach of the U.S. Women's National Beach Soccer Team • Vincent L. Griffith, rear admiral in the United States Navy • Elijah Hirsh, professional basketball player • Josh Hughes, professional soccer player • John Junkins, professor and former interim president of Texas A&M University • Mason Kinsey, professional football player • Collin McHugh, professional baseball player • Heather Willauer, chemist and inventor

• Name — Berry College • Settlement Type — Census-designated place • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — United States • Subdivision Type1 — State • Subdivision Name1 — Georgia • Subdivision Type2 — County • Subdivision Name2 — Floyd • Unit Pref — Imperial • Population As Of — 2020 • Population Total — 1565 • Population Density Km2 — auto • Population Density Sq Mi — auto • Timezone — Eastern (EST) • Utc Offset — −5 • Elevation Ft — 614 • Postal Code Type — ZIP Code • Blank Name — FIPS code • Blank1 Name — GNIS feature ID • Blank1 Info — 2806017 Berry College CDP is a census-designated place (CDP), and the official name for an area covering the Berry College campus, in Floyd County, Georgia, United States. It first appeared as a CDP in the 2020 Census with a population of 1,565.

Berry College CDP, Georgia – racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. • Race / ethnicity — Pop 2020 — % 2020 • White alone (NH) — 1,228 — 78.47% • Black or African American alone (NH) — 122 — 7.80% • Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) — 3 — 0.19% • Asian alone (NH) — 36 — 2.30% • Pacific Islander alone (NH) — 1 — 0.06% • Other race alone (NH) — 60 — 3.83% • Mixed-race or multiracial (NH) — 3 — 0.19% • Hispanic or Latino (any race) — 112 — 7.16% • Total — 1,565 — 100.00% • NH = Non-Hispanic